On the Run
by Mah-Blackberreh
Summary: The Doctor is running again, and this time he meets an old friend in an unexpected place. A collection of loosely related drabbles; Jack/Eleven, eventual Jack/Eleven/Rose
1. On the Run

**AN:** Ok, firstly, please forgive me because this is actually quite bad. I feel like it's really disjointed and repetitive but I used this to sort of break through my writers block. Also, this turned out like nothing it was supposed to be. Jakathine (on tumblr) gave me the promt 'Jack flirts with Eleven', but it didn't work out. This was born.

It may turn into a series of drabbles though, if that helps. So here, take some angsty Jack/Eleven goodness~!

* * *

"Oh this is not good – this is so very, _very_ not good."

He'd lost count of how many times he'd gotten himself into situations like this. Really, he had his good days, and then he had his bad days – and they seemed to be happening more and more frequently.

Ever since he'd lost Amy and Rory.

But he tried not to dwell on that, and instead did what he always did: run.

It was just a pity he wasn't quick enough in this instance. He should have been faster; he had no companions to worry about, so he should have just high-tailed it out of there as soon as things started get messy.

But really, how could he have known that he had entered sacred ground? It was an honest mistake! The chief of the local native tribe didn't seem to think so though, and the Doctor had found himself thrown in the dungeon to await a so-called 'proper' trial that was who knew how long away!

Luckily, the guards had only done a brief once over for weapons. The Doctor still had his sonic screwdriver tucked safely away in his jacket pocket – the only problem was his hands were bound behind his back so he had no easy way of reaching it.

He could hardly see a thing either. There was only a tiny barred window carved into the stone and the suns had set hours ago - the torchlight that was out in the corridor was no help at all as well. There was an itching all over his skin, something familiar, and it got more difficult to ignore as the seconds passed - a sense of wrongness - and it strangely didn't inspire any negative emotion. _Familiar…_

He muttered to himself and tugged at the bindings, letting out a frustrated noise when they didn't budge.

"Who's there?"

The Doctor froze and tilted his head to the side at the sound of the voice – an extremely familiar voice at that, and for the first time in what was _probably_ months he felt the stirrings of true happiness well within him. _That explained the itching!_

"Jack?" He called out into the darkness. "Captain Jack Harkness, is that you?"

There was a thud and a loud groan, and the Doctor strained his eyes. He could make out a figure that was struggling to stand and move towards him. The figure staggered and caught himself on the stone wall, and what little moonlight that streamed through the window illuminated the familiar face.

It was Jack alright. A very dirty, malnourished looking Jack, but still Jack.

The Doctor hadn't seen him for years. Many, many years, and he wondered briefly how long it had been for Jack.

"Doctor?" The immortal man questioned incredulously. His startling blue eyes were wide and slightly unfocused. "Is that really you?"

The Doctor whooped with joy, and would have hugged the man if he could. "Oh Jack you have _no_ idea how happy I am to see you!"

Jack let out a strained laugh and straightened his back, standing a little more easily. His hands – dirty, covered in who knows what – grabbed the Doctor's cheeks and before he could react, Jack kissed him.

The Doctor froze, eyes wide and staring into Jack's own.

He'd been kissed like this before. All those years ago, on that dreadful space station, Jack had kissed him goodbye. This wasn't a goodbye kiss, but… He could read every emotion in that kiss. There was happiness yes, and sense of sheer joy at seeing him again, but underlying it all was the bitter taste of resentment, anger, and a whole well of guilt.

_Ah._ The Doctor realised. Not that long at all for Jack.

Jack didn't release him, but he broke the kiss and pressed his forehead against the Doctor's own, breathing heavily. The Doctor remained still, watching Jack with sympathetic eyes. The immortal man made no move to speak, and looked to be struggling to keep his emotions in check.

"How long have you been here, Jack?" The Doctor asked gently.

Jack shifted slightly and blinked. "I… I'm not sure. A few weeks I think."

The Doctor breathed out a sigh. He didn't ask how Jack got stuck down here – likely it was for the same stupid reason the Doctor himself was there now, or something like that. The best thing to do would be to get them both out of there, and then maybe… they were due for a talk.

The Doctor could feel Jack's emotions. Without his bidding it seemed his touch telepathy had activated, and the Time Lord could hear disjointed thoughts whirl through the immortal's mind, and they made no sense. Jack was hurting, and had been for a long, _long_ time, carrying all that negative emotion from all the way back to when he had abandoned him on Satellite Five.

The Doctor would be lying if he said he's forgotten about Jack. Forgotten about the trials he had been put through, forgotten his death and resurrection on Satellite Five, the torture on the Valiant at the hands of the Master… the 456 – no matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't go back and change things. The Doctor had dealt with the consequences of messing with a fixed point in time before, and he had learnt from his mistakes.

Jack bore it all. Bore it all without complaint, and the Doctor knew, deep within his hearts that any other human would have been driven mad. But Jack was always different, always unique. Despite everything the Doctor had put him through, he still loved him. Jack loved him no matter what, never doubted him, and the Doctor always left him in the end.

He never went back for Jack. Sometimes, when he allowed himself to think, he found himself hating the person he was. He knew he'd had his reasons, but in the end…

He had abandoned Jack. Left everyone of that life behind to start anew – and look at him now.

On the run again.

"Oh Jack," he sighed. "What am I going to do?"

Jack let out a broken laugh. "Well, for starters… How about we get out of here?"

The Doctor smiled. _Yes. That is a good start._

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_AN: _Reviews make me happy :D


	2. Escape

**AN: **Drabble. Takes place directly after On the Run. Using baby-tooth-on-redbull's prompt "you first".

* * *

**Escape**

It was rather amazing how quickly Jack was able to untie his bonds.

His movements were tired, clumsy, but he did it in a matter of seconds, and the Doctor rubbed at his chaffed wrists. Jack wearily leaned against the wall – he looked like he was struggling to stay awake, and again the Doctor wondered how long he had been down here.

He wanted to ask – oh, how _desperately _he wanted to know, but they needed to get out of there and back to the TARDIS. The Doctor laid a steadying hand on Jack's shoulder, and his skin buzzed with sensation from being so close to him. It was wrong, it frayed his nerves, but at the same time it offered him a sense of comfort. Jack was a fixed point in time – and as far as the Doctor knew, he would remain forever.

As long as the Doctor lived… he wouldn't be completely alone.

"Hey, Jack, come on stay with me here…"

Jack shook his head and blinked his eyes. He offered a smile – a pale comparison to what he used to give. He murmured, "You can get us out of here…"

"Yeah, I can, as soon as I…" he patted down his coat, feeling for his sonic screwdriver, and gave a happy exclamation when he pulled it out. "Got it!"

With the screwdriver in one hand, the Doctor set to work and had the cell door open in moments. He poked his head out and was extremely grateful to see no guards. _Honestly, what kind of society is this…?_

He grabbed Jack's hand and pulled, catching him as he stumbled.

"You first," he murmured. "I need to lock the door behind us; maybe it will buy us more time…"

Jack did stumble out of the cell first, and he didn't let go of the Doctor's hand. He was moving slowly, and the Time Lord figured he had to at least have several broken ribs, maybe even some internal injuries – he was trying to hide his pain, and he wasn't being very successful.

His palm was dirty, but it was very warm. An anchor in the sea of madness that was the Doctor's very existence. The Doctor remembered all the times he had held hands with his companions, so many different faces and so many different lives, and ran away from everything…

He had left so many of them behind.

He wouldn't let go of Jack's hand. _Not again_. They would run, together.


	3. By His Side

**AN**: Drabble. Takes place directly after 'On the Run' and 'Escape'.

Ghostfucks gave the prompt 'What crustaceans?', and this just seemed to roll out.

* * *

It was stinking hot. A great deal hotter than it was when Jack first arrived on the planet – even though the suns had set hours ago, the heat hung in the air like a heavy blanket. It didn't help that the Doctor kept them moving at a fast pace; it put a heavy strain on Jack's injured leg, and he was pretty sure that if he keep moving the way he was, one of his broken ribs would probably puncture his lungs and he would most likely end up dying a slow, agonising death.

He had died of suffocation enough times already, and frankly would like to never experience it again.

But if he does die, at least he'd come back fully healed. Granted, he healed a lot quicker than normal humans, but dying would make everything so much easier.

He doubted he would be able to convince the Doctor of that.

They were on the beach now, the native's settlement left far behind them; they'd barely managed to sneak out undetected, and now they only had a mile or so left to reach the TARDIS, which was parked further down the shore.

The Doctor paused, halting Jack's movement.

"I'm missing something…" he muttered. "What is it, what is it…?"

"Doctor?" Jack wheezed in question. He pressed his free hand against his aching chest and tried to gain control of his breathing.

"There's something I'm forgetting…" he squinted at the ocean, and Jack suddenly hear movement among the sand. He looked around, and spotted something that would have made him laugh in any other situation.

The immortal human tugged on the Doctor's hand. "Aah, Doctor? Does it have anything to do with the giant crustaceans?"

The Doctor blinked and looked at him. "What crustaceans?"

Jack pointed at the giant crab that was making its way towards them.

The Doctor grimaced and his hand tightened around Jacks. "Oh yes, those crustaceans. How could I have forgotten them…?"

It was then Jack heard the movement behind them, accompanied by a foreboding sensation, and quickly Jack pushed the Doctor down as the giant claw snapped closed right where their heads had been.

Jack grimaced as the Doctor pulled him back up, and they wove between the giant crab's legs and dove behind the rock formation it had crawled over before it knew what was going on.

"How come I never noticed them before? Giant crabs are kind of hard to miss." Jack panted.

"My guess is that they are seasonal," The Doctor explained. He yelped when another appeared from seemingly out of nowhere and he ended up yanking Jack back again and danced off in the other direction. He continued, "nocturnal as well, which would explain why _I _didn't see them when I arrived – and I heard about them from the natives before I got… well, arrested. I _think_ they hibernate during the colder months and come out when it warms up to mate and eat and… be hunted down. From what I understand they are the native's main food source."

"Well, it was snowing when I got here…" Jack mumbled.

The Doctor stopped abruptly. He looked at Jack with those, old, all-knowing eyes – and Jack had to look away. There was a question hanging in the air, and Jack knew that he had to talk eventually, but now just wasn't the time.

They needed to get of that stupid planet – with its silly rules and judgemental natives and _giant crabs_.

_Giant crabs_ for god's sake!

* * *

The TARDIS' doors closed gently behind them, and Jack leant against them with a sigh as the Doctor pranced up to the console and started pulling levers and pressing buttons.

It looked different than the last time Jack had been inside. It seemed… cold, and lonely, everything done in silver metal and cold blue light.

It had never been this cold.

But it was full of life – he could feel _her_, deep within his aching bones, welcoming him like a long lost friend; and in a way, he was.

"Hey old girl," He whispered. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

The TARDIS hummed, and the atmosphere seemed to grow a little bit warmer, and then the Doctor was in front of Jack once again.

He could see him clearly now. He had regenerated, and He looked young – so very young, with old eyes that had witnessed horrors beyond imagining… Jack knew full well what some of those horrors were, and knew that the Doctor had committed a fair number of them.

Jack wanted to kiss him again – and he gave into the impulse. He leaned forward and pressed his lips against the Doctor's, shivered when he felt the Time Lord give in just a little and kiss back. They remained like that for what felt like a century, their bodies barely touching, and the kiss remaining as just a chaste press of the lips. The Doctor's hand slipped into his own once again, squeezing comfortingly, and Jack squeezed back.

"Come on then," The Doctor said when they finally drew apart. He was smiling. "Best get you to the med-bay and see to your injuries."

'_Then we will talk,'_ was left unsaid, and Jack allowed himself to be tugged through the corridors.

Despite the peace of the moment, there was doubt in Jack's mind. A part of him wondered how long the Doctor would put up with him before he grew tired, and was abandoned again. He knew the Doctor would never do it intentionally, but things happened. Who knew what twisted situations that they would most likely get into in the future and Jack might have to…

Well, there was nothing left for him to lose.

So he would wait, and when the Doctor decides that he had had enough, he would go willingly.

He shook himself out of the depressing thoughts and told them quite boldly to shut up.

He knew in his heart that the Doctor wouldn't abandon him – not this time. Whatever challenges were going to come, he would face them with a smile, right by the doctor's side.

He just hopped they wouldn't run into anymore giant crabs. They smelled _really _bad and could be very persistent.


	4. Madness

**AN:** Teensy drabble that comes in nor particular order.

* * *

There was something dark that lurked in the Doctor's eyes, and Jack was positive it was madness.

It had always been there, for as long as Jack had known him, but _never_ had it been so plain. There were times, yes, when it emerged, way back forever ago with his ninth and tenth regenerations, but this Doctor… This Doctor was older, and it was as if the madness had grown with every terrible act he had committed, and each horrible dead he had witnessed.

He had a feeling that the Doctor was walking a very fine edge, and the slightest breeze could push him over the edge.

_But_, Jack thought, _I'm not much different._

_I'm probably just as mad._


	5. To Sleep

**AN:** Ah this one just seems kind of awkward to me, but I'm posting it anyway. Prompt is 'talking until they pass out', from jakathine on tumblr.

* * *

**To Sleep**

They laid together on a comfortable bed in the TARDIS' med-bay, and Jack was fighting sleep.

When they had arrived at the med-bay, the Doctor had fixed his up his injuries as best he could, given him some food and hooked him up to a saline drip to combat with dehydration, all the while chatting about how difficult the TARDIS had been lately.

Jack asked the Doctor what date it was during a pause for breath, and when he replied Jack realised he'd been in the dungeon for three months.

The Doctor, despite his cheerful chatting, had a reserved look about him. Traces of exhaustion lined his face, and there was an aura of weariness surrounding him.

So Jack had taken the initiative. When the Doctor got close to the bed, Jack had reached out a hand, grabbed his arm, and pulled him down beside him. The Doctor had let out a girlish squeak that Jack found nearly unbearable adorable, and he'd tried to protest, but Jack had taken none of it.

He silenced the Doctor's protests with a kiss.

Now, side by side, they stared at each other, and the Doctor started talking. He started talking about the aftermath of the Crucible – of leaving Rose and his metacrisis clone back in Pete's World, erasing Donna's memories because she would have died, and then changing a fixed point in time.

_Timelord victorious,_ he had called himself.

He talked of how he had willingly gone to face his death, because he believed his time had come, and the subsequent fight against the Master and the appearance of Gallifrey.

_I sent them to their deaths,_ he said, and Jack wrapped his arms around the Doctor as tears leaked down his cheeks.

He spoke of saving Wilf, the kind old man who thought so much of him, and of how he would never regret it. He spoke of his goodbyes.

And his regeneration – born anew, alone.

But he found a young girl named Amelia Pond, who intrigued him so very much, with her fiery personality and too –big house with too-many empty rooms. Twelve skipped years, an Atraxi invasion, and then another two years and he had two new companions, Amy Pond and her husband Rory Williams.

They became family.

He told Jack about River, and oh how Jack wished he could have met her. Anyone who could keep the Doctor guessing intrigued and on his toes deserved a large degree of respect in the immortal man's eyes. She was a mystery, the daughter of his two companions and 'the woman who kills the Doctor'.

She died, and the Doctor regretted so much.

He lost them all – so he ran.

They became his family, and now he felt as if he had nothing left.

"You have me," Jack found himself whispering. "You've always had me."

The Doctor looked at him with those sad, lonely eyes and smiled. "I know," he said. "And I'm sorry that I left you behind."

Jack believed him. And so he started telling his own story – gaining his Torchwood team back, only to lose them again, piece by piece. The 456 and their demand of the children, the loss of his lover Ianto, and then… the murder of his grandson.

It all had become too much, so Jack ran away as well.

The Doctor didn't offer any comforting words to Jack; he didn't say it wasn't his fault, nor did he blame him.

All he said was, "I understand."

Because the Doctor _did_ understand. He had destroyed his entire race, and knew that nothing would ever erase the wound it had left on his hearts.

In the end, they held each other; mentally and physically exhausted, and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**AN:** Ok, so I am going to do something big with this. There are two stories planned in this series that are going to be more than just drabbles (**Hallowed World, **and **The Divine Conspiracy**), and I might - _might - _Be brining back Rose and turning this into a threesome.

Because Jack/Doctor/Rose is one of my all time OT3s.

What do you all think of that?


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